Now, to our exclusive interview with paul ryan. Mitt romney's running mate was sent back to congress instead of the white house last week. And he sat down with jon karl to talk about handling the loss and how he and the gop can pick up the pieces. Reporter: The president wins 300 some electoral votes. Every battleground state with the exception of north carolina. Does barack obama now have a mandate? I don't think so because they also re-elected the house republicans. Whether people intended or not, we have divided government. Reporter: But there was one issue that the president campaigned on, it was raising taxes on the wealthy. Every, single speech he gave. Doesn't he have a mandate there? The top earners? Well, seeing them pay more of their fair share as the president put it. You can do that through loopholes without compromising growth. But what we have learned, history and economics, is that you keep raising tax rates on job creators, it will cost us jobs. Reporter: Could you see yourself supporting a plan that raises tax rates? I don't want to raise taxes. Reporter: You don't support it? I don't support raising tax rates. Reporter: Ryan talked to us about how the family took the loss. Beginning with his 78-year-old mother. What did your mom tell you after the loss? She was proud of me. Reporter: She was a celebrity on the campaign trail. Betty. She was proud of me. She gave me a hug and a kiss. Reporter: Was it hard on the ki the kids were great. They were worried about leaving their school. Reporter: They were glad they got to stay home. They were happy to be able to stay home. We live on the block we grew up on. My brother lives on the block from me. That was the upside of all of this. The downside, we didn't win the election. Reporter: Just a week after the election, ryan made it clear he is ready to get right back to work here in congress. Disappointed by that loss, george. But also, returning with a much higher profile than he had before mitt romney tapped him as his running mate. He could have gained political capital.

This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.